Karl Towns announcement primer

Brian Snow

12/03/2012

The top prospect in the 2015 class is Karl Towns, and the New Jersey will make his commitment on Tuesday morning.

The Recruitment

Things picked up early in the Karl Towns recruitment. During his first game at Metuchen (NJ) St. Joseph's, Towns put on a show and proved immediately that he was going to be one of the premier players in the country regardless of class.

It didn't take long for Rutgers to issue an offer and make Towns a top priority. Then others immediately followed. Schools like Baylor, Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Michigan State all issued offers or made him one of the premier targets in the class.

Not long after that Kentucky came forward and offered. Rumored from the beginning to be the school to beat, the Wildcats immediately shot to the top of Towns' list, but none the less there were other schools set to issue major challenges.

Towns made a visit to Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State and all three made an impression. The Blue Devils and Wolfpack offered and seemed to put forward a major threat for Kentucky. Then there was Florida. The Gators were an admitted "dream school" for Towns, and that offer came and opened his eyes.

Still Towns would make another visit to Kentucky and decided without an official visit that he was ready to make his decision before the start of his sophomore season.

The Talent

When it comes to talent, Towns has a ton of yet. He isn't an elite athlete by any stretch, but he continues to get more athletic as his body gets into shape. However it is the skill level that puts him over the top and not the athletic gifts.

Towns likes to play on the perimeter because he is such a good three point shooter and also is capable of taking post players off the dribble. While it might not be ideal to have a kid 6-foot-9 away from the paint, Towns can be effective in that role because his skill level is elite, and he has the ability to beat a team with the shot or the dribble.

Still Towns isn't afraid to go down low. While he isn't yet completely refined as back to the basket player, he can score down low and is a capable to good rebounder. While not super physical, he does play with great effort and is a good low post defender because of his size and strength.

The Prediction

Quite simply this recruitment has seemed like a formality for a few months. It has seemed like the Kentucky Wildcats were the clear leader, and to this point no one has come forward and said they think Towns is headed to any school but Kentucky. Towns spent time with John Calipari over the summer as a member of the Dominican National Team, and that could only help to make the relationship between the two parties stronger. Right now it is looking like UK will be the winner, and that they will get him early because Towns is very likely to classify up to 2014. Quite simply the prediction is people in Lexington will be happy and Towns will play for the Wildcats.